Role - UX/UI Designer
Project - Design an interactive event space finder app for large-scale conferences.
Goal - This app aims to improve the experience of conference attendees by providing a user-friendly platform for navigating event spaces, discovering sessions, learning about speakers, and facilitating networking opportunities.
Background - Pointr, a leader in indoor location technology, saw an opportunity to enhance the conference experience for attendees. Traditional conference navigation often relies on paper maps and static schedules, leading to frustration and missed connections. Pointr sought to develop a user-centered solution that leveraged their existing map technology.
Pointr's Deep Location® technology formed the core foundation, offering a robust and accurate indoor navigation system for attendees. With the vision looking to extended beyond navigation. We aimed to create a comprehensive and dynamic app experience, addressing the needs of a diverse audience. This included features like session discovery & scheduling, networking capabilities, and real-time updates. The focus was on user experience, ensuring the app was accessible and intuitive for all attendees.
Users
The user research has highlighted three key categories of user:
• Attendees.
• Speakers/Guests.
• Organisers.
Each category will have their own unique pain points in regards to visiting a large-scale conference and needs when it comes to building an interactive app. As highlighted below the user group: attendees is the focal point of this case study and will be looking at the users that fall within that category, including; first-time attendees, experienced attendees, solo attendees, attendees with accessibility needs and international attendees.
Each of the conference attendee user personas has specific needs and pain points that need to be addressed in the design solution.
Competitors
understanding what is currently available in the market with existing conference app experiences was important to evaluate their strengths and weaknesses. Exploring current offerings also highlights potential opportunities to promote unique features within our app that can set us ahead of the market. I looked at conference and event apps from both direct and indirect competition to get a full picture of key features, navigation, UI design and accessibility that was currently being used.
Design Concept
Through comprehensive user research, I identified key features that would address both the needs and pain points of conference attendees, organisers, and speakers. The research revealed several crucial elements:
User Scheduling Planner:
Attendees required a way to manage their schedules efficiently, ensuring they could attend their preferred sessions and activities without conflicts.
User Profiles:
Providing attendees, organisers, and speakers with personalised profiles allowed for better networking and tailored experiences.
QR Code Venue Access:
To streamline the check-in process and enhance security, QR code access was implemented, allowing quick and efficient entry to the venue.
Attendee Find/Chat:
Facilitating connections between attendees was essential, so a feature to find and chat with other attendees was integrated, enhancing networking opportunities.
Live Event Programme Search:
A real-time search functionality for the event programme was included, enabling attendees to quickly find sessions, speakers, and topics of interest.
Interactive Map:
To help attendees navigate the venue with ease, an interactive map was provided, highlighting key locations and amenities.
UI Mock-ups
The user interface design of this conference app prioritises a seamless and intuitive experience for attendees. To achieve this, a comprehensive design system was established. This system defines the app's visual language, encompassing elements like typography, colour palettes, button styles, and layout structures. By maintaining consistency across all screens, the design fosters familiarity and ease of navigation, allowing users to focus on conference activities rather than learning app functionalities.
Further enhancing the design process, a UI element library was created. This library serves as a centralised repository of pre-designed and reusable UI components. From buttons and icons to navigation elements and content blocks, this library empowers rapid prototyping and ensures a consistent visual identity throughout the app. The library not only streamlines the design process but also promotes scalability as new features are added.
This emphasis on a unified design language, facilitated by the design system and element library, contributes to a user-centric experience that prioritises clarity, efficiency and a positive first impression for all conference attendees.
Design System
Typography:
Defined a clear text hierarchy using specific font families and sizes. This ensures easy readability, scanning, and information prioritisation for users.
Colour Palette:
Established a simple palette of primary colours and supporting shades that maintain brand identity while exceeding WCAG accessibility standards. This guarantees visual clarity and inclusivity for all users. Secondary colours are used sparingly for highlights to maintain visual balance. The system is flexible enough to adapt to different conference branding as needed.
Grid System:
Implemented an 8pt grid system, significantly reducing visual clutter and ensuring consistent layout across the app. This creates a clean and organized look, making it easier for users to navigate and find information.
Ant design system was referenced for icons.
UI Elements
My design leverages card UI elements for their inherent strengths in handling information-dense content. Cards provide several advantages, both for users and the overall design.
For Users:
• Rapid information digestion - Chunks of content within cards are easily scannable, perfect for quick comprehension on any device.
• Enhanced visual appeal - Cards break up text-heavy areas, making the interface more inviting and engaging.
• Prioritisation at a glance - Key information within cards is highlighted, allowing users to prioritise their browsing efficiently.
For Design:
• Efficiency and reusability - Cards are modular, saving development time and promoting consistency across the app.
• Responsive adaptability - Easily resize and rearrange cards to ensure optimal viewing on various screen sizes.
• Content versatility - Cards accommodate diverse content types (text, images, videos) with flexibility.
Outcomes and Next Steps
The initial design phase of this interactive event space finder app has yielded promising results. The creation of high-fidelity mockups, accompanied by clear functionality descriptions, provides a strong foundation for further development. Positive first impressions from stakeholders and conference attendees indicate the app's potential to address user needs.
Next Steps:
• User Testing -
Conducting formal user testing sessions will be crucial. Observing how real attendees interact with the app will reveal usability issues and opportunities for improvement. This data will be vital in refining the design for an optimal user experience.
• Iterative Design -
Based on user testing results, the design will undergo an iterative process. This involves incorporating user feedback and making adjustments to the mockups until a user-friendly and intuitive interface is achieved.
• Development -
Once the design is finalized, the app can be handed off to developers for construction.
Learning Outcomes:
This initial design exercise has been a valuable learning experience. It has allowed me to:
• Translate User Research into Design -
By focusing on user needs identified during research, I have created a design that addresses attendee pain points and fosters a more positive conference experience.
• Establish a Design System -
Developing a design system has proven its effectiveness in promoting visual consistency and streamlining the design process. This skill will be valuable in future projects.
• Utilise UI Element Libraries -
Creating a UI element library has demonstrably improved design efficiency. I will continue to leverage this approach for future projects.
I am confident that by combining initial positive feedback with user testing and iterative design, this interactive event space finder app can become a valuable tool for conference attendees, enhancing their overall experience.